Addiction to social networks and the eating disorders are they related? According to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (United States), people who consult social media more often are more likely to be prone to eating behavior problems. Their study is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Up to 2.6 times more likely to have an eating disorder
The scientists looked at 1,765 adults, aged 19 to 32, randomly selected from a nationwide online panel. They then observed whether these people had an eating disorder such asanorexia, the bulimia, distorted perception of one’s image or problematic eating habits by means of a questionnaire. At the same time, they raised their frequency of weekly visits and the daily volume of use of 11 social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vine, Snapchat and Reddit.
As a result, participants who spent the most time per day on social media and achieved the most visits per week had a 2.2 to 2.6 times higher risk of having an eating disorder.
A high risk health addiction
“The results of this study indicate a strong and consistent association between the use of social networks and eating disorders in a representative national sample of young adults between 19 and 32 years old.“conclude the authors in their publication. This link seems to exist for the uses of these networks both in terms of volume and frequency of visits. However, the researchers could not determine whether the consultation of social networks caused disturbances food or if it were the opposite. The observed association is for the moment only a simple correlation, without link of cause and effect. The propagation of stereotypes of thinness or the many physical challenges, as recently the A4 waist challenge, could partly explain the results of this study.
Social media addiction, which could be as strong as the cocaine one, is the subject of numerous studies. It has recently been shown that a excessive use of these networks would generate stress, would have a link with the lack of sleep in young people, and could play a role in mental health problems.
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